Papa Phoenix
by SaitouMiharu
Summary: Since losing his badge, Phoenix has been taking care of Trucy. And now she shall take him on a nerve-fraying journey... the journey to find some new clothes.


Papa Phoenix

An Ace Attorney Fanfic

By Saitou Miharu

Phoenix groaned inwardly-- shopping wasn't exactly something he enjoyed, and clothes shopping was only worse-- as he followed an excited eight-year-old Trucy through the throngs of people at the mall. "Come on, Daddy!" Trucy called back to him. He struggled to push through the people without literally shoving them to the floor. Trucy's head was no longer facing him when he managed to get out of the mob, so he resignedly followed her into a large clothing store.

"Trucy, why are we here?" he asked her once he'd caught up.

She whirled around and smiled at her daddy. "You're not a lawyer anymore. You'll need some new clothes, you can't wear those suits of your all the time!" Without waiting for his response, she dug deeper into the store, heading straight for the men's clothing department. "Daddy, how much do you weigh?"

"How much... do I weigh?" Phoenix thought this a strange question. "One-fifty, I believe." He'd lost some weight since losing his badge.

The eight-year-old magician lifted her index finger and attempted an Edgeworth-style finger-wag. "You really need to gain a little weight, Daddy." She sighed as if he were the child and she were the parent. "Although I suppose it can't be helped, at least for now. We should buy you some new clothes anyway."

The ex-lawyer sighed and forced a small smile. "What would you suggest?" he asked, a little afraid of her answer.

"How about this?" She took a t-shirt from the nearby rack and held it up. The front read, "Larry Butz is my BFF." Phoenix took the shirt from his daughter and blatantly gaped at the text. _Larry... I haven't talked to him in a while... Has he become famous?!_

Meanwhile, Trucy was slightly confused. She asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing." he replied after regaining his composure. He took the shirt and put it back where Trucy had found it. "I just don't think that's something I want to wear... ever..." He shuddered slightly.

"Okay." The eight-year-old didn't seem offended at all as she hurriedly found another shirt. "What about this, Daddy?" It was plain, white, and exactly the kind of thing Phoenix already wore under button-up tops.

"Uh, okay." he answered. _Why the heck not?_

"Now we need something to complete this entourage!"

Phoenix bit his lip and fingered the magatama in his pocket. _I have a bad feeling about this..._

It wasn't long before Trucy had found a gray hoodie, complete with large pocket, and some black jeans. The ex-attorney sighed, thinking, _Maybe I shouldn't gain any weight... if I do, she'll take me shopping again... and who knows what kind of ridiculous ensemble she'll have me in next...? I should just be grateful it's not too bad this time..._

Phoenix carried the shopping bag outside, Trucy skipping along beside him. They'd walked to the shopping mall, and thus were walking back, when Trucy remarked nonchalantly, "Your hair is getting long, Daddy."

"Hm." he murmured back.

"I could cut it for you..."

Sensing the scheme in her words, Phoenix glanced down at her and caught her evil grin. "Uh... I can cut it myself..." he babbled uselessly. She giggled.

"You know, I kinda like your hair longer." Trucy continued. "Maybe we could leave it, let it grow, then dye it blond, and you could pretend to be European and say 'Ja, Fraulein.'"

The ex-attorney stared down at her. "No way..."

"I was kidding! Kidding!" Trucy couldn't hold her laughter any longer. After a few minutes, she stopped giggling and said, "If you _are_ going to keep it a bit long, though, you should buy a hat."

"Uh, I don't normally wear hats."

Trucy's grin doubled in size. Phoenix felt dread snowballing into flat-out panic. _Oh no..._

Three days later, Phoenix noticed a bandage on his daughter's left hand. "What happened?" he asked.

She immediately became defensive. "Uh, nothing."

The amount of bandages increased each day, until finally Phoenix simply entered his daughter's bedroom and searched for anything suspicious. She was at school, so he was free to search as long as he wanted. After about half an hour, he found it: a bright blue beanie with the word "Papa" sewn on the side. He smiled; Trucy had most likely sewn it all by herself, and apparently pricked herself in the process.

A wave of sleepiness suddenly hit Phoenix; he'd stayed up all night, and it was starting to affect him. At first he struggled to stay awake, but eventually gave in to his closing lids and fell into a very deep sleep.

"Daddy... wake up..."

Phoenix's blue eyes fluttered open; he glanced around. He was on the floor in Trucy's room, wearing the clothes she picked out for him only a week or so before. He looked at her. "Hmm?"

"You found it, didn't you?" she asked quietly. "The hat. I finished it this morning, but couldn't give it to you because I had to go to school..." her small voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Trucy." Phoenix felt a sudden pang of guilt. "I shouldn't have looked for it, but I was wondering why you kept hurting yourself."

"It's okay." the eight-year-old whispered. She smiled. "Here."

His eyes widened slightly as she took her hands from behind her back and slipped the completed beanie over his hair. He felt a metallic piece inside poking him; he took the hat off and examined it. On the side, right under the word "Papa," was Ema Skye's old button. "Trucy... where did you find this?"

"It was lying around in your desk drawer." she replied, as if going through a person's desk wasn't a big deal. "What is it, Daddy? I thought it was cute, so I put it on the hat."

He felt his lips curving into a slight smile. "Nothing." He slipped the beanie back over his head and grinned. "Thank you, Trucy. For everything."


End file.
